Tweets in the Peak: Twitter Analysis - the impact of Covid-19 on cultural landscapes

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on society, with restrictions on socialising and movement during the three lockdown periods between March 2020 and March 2021 (Baker et al. 2021; Institute for Government Analysis 2021). Easily accessible locations offering the typical qualities of tourist destinations moved into the focus of day visitors in periods when restriction eased. The Peak District National Park (PDNP), a cultural landscape comprising historical places, natural beauty spots, and 'chocolate box' villages, offered a way of satisfying the urge to escape to the countryside. The impact was also felt in the heritage sector, with a noticeable change in visitor behaviour and the relationship between park residents and day tourists (Jones and McGinlay 2020; Sofaer et al. 2021). In order to understand societal change, social media research gives a unique insight into the sentiments, actions, and controversies associated with tourism, Covid-19, and nature conservation. In particular, the open and public nature of Twitter data offers itself for the analysis of large datasets based on specific search queries at specific time periods. For this research, tweets from the PDNP for three weekends in 2019 to 2021 with different restriction levels were collected. Using R and Python, automated processes allow the time-efficient analysis of qualitative information. This project has extended the standard procedures of social media analysis, such as keyword search and sentiment analysis by an emoji analysis and location entity recognition, focusing specifically on cultural and natural heritage. Using Twitter data in a time-efficient process and creating visually appealing outputs may foster an appreciation of the park's resources and positively influence the behaviour of visitors and residents. Going forward, improving the relationship between people and places will provide background for the management of cultural landscapes and help tackle environmental issues, such as peat erosion resulting from a large influx of walkers, address the climate change emergency, and help ease the controversial relationship between a living and working landscape and tourism.